Grader and attachment therefor



May 13, 1941. 0. M. HUETER, JR

GRADER AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 13, 1939 INVENTOR 0.5642 MHUETEE, .72.

BY g 22 ATTORNEY$ May 13, 1941. O HUETER, JR 2,241,666

GRADER AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed Nov. 13, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2

INVENTOR 05642 M HUETEZ, .72.

BY M/ A ORNEYS Patented May 13, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GRADER AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Oscar M. Hueter, Jr., Ross, Calif. Application l lovember 13, 1939, Serial No. 304,064

9 Claims. (01. 37-177) This invention relates to graders, and has for its objects an attachment that includes a cutting blade, adapted to be easily and quickly attached to and detached from a standard grader of the type employingan earth engaging blade as the most advanced element of the grader, and which attachment when in position, is adapted to cooperate with the grader for increasing its scope of use.

Another object is an attachment of the above character adapted to function for cutting banks or ditches at the desired angle with respect to horizontal and which attachment also is adapted to be raised and lowered by conventional means normally carried on the tractor and the angularity of the cutting blade of the attachment is also adapted to be changed with respect to the earth engaging blade of the grader by conventional means on the grader.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the specification and drawings annexed hereto.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of my invention on a standard grader.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentaryfront view of an end of the standard grader blade with my attachment thereon disposed in upwardly inclined position with respect to said blade.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the standard grader blade with my attachment shown thereon in elevation at right angles to the view of Fi 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary part sectional and part elevational view of the attachment of one of the cables to the auxiliary cutting blade arm.

My attachment is particularly suitable for attachment to one end of the generally horizontally extending blade of a grader of the bulldozer and angledozer type. This type of grader is one in which there is a tractor, ordinarily of the track-laying type, that carries one or several arms pivoted thereto and extending forwardly of the tractor. A substantially horizontally extending grading blade is carried by the forward ends of the arms, and which blade is raised or lowered by means on the tractor, the arms pivoting about the pivots securing the arms to the tractor. The means for raising and lowering the grading blade comprises a drum and cable and a second drum and cable is ordinarily present on the tractor for other operations that may be desired. In fact, sometimes three and four drums are on the tractor.

Heretofore graders of the above described type carry a single blade, as described, and which blade may be slightly tilted with respect to horizontal, but this movement is very slight. Thus the grader is limited in its use, since the grading blade is ahead of the tractor, and in roadwork, the cutting and finishing of banks alongside the road requires another complete unit, or hand labor is employed to cut the bank the desired angle, and then the grader, scraper or an earth mover is employed to handle the loose earth or rocks and the like that roll onto the road or to the base of the bank.

Withmy invention, the ordinary grader of the bulldozer type that is on the job, is quickly equipped to cutditches at the side of the road, thus eliminating the necessity for additional grader units, or hand work, and the attachment comprising said invention, when positioned on a grader of the above type, is in the most desirable position for observation of its operation, being forwardly of the operator and there being no wheels or the like at any point ahead of said attachment.

The use of the term grader in this description is intended to refer particularly to a grader of the bulldozer or "angledozer type, as already briefly described.

In the drawings, the conventional tractor is indicated at; l to one or both sides of which tractor is an arm 2 extending generally horizontally forwardly of the tractor, which arm is horizontally pivoted at 3 at its rear end to the tractor so as to'permit raising and lowering of the forward end of the arm. The said arm is raised and lowered by means of a cable 4 that extends around sheave 5 that is carried by the grader blade, and then over sheaves 6, I carried on frame 8 on the tractor to a drum 9 driven by the power unit that drives the tractor. Conventional controls ill on the tractor enable the operator to control the drum 9, and also to separately control a second drum l0, which second drum It carries a cable II that passes over sheaves on frame 8, similar to the sheaves 6, I and forwardly of the tractor to around sheave I2, which latter sheave is carried at the upper end of my attachment, as will be described later on.

Secured to the forward end of arm 2 is agenerally horizontally elongated blade that extends generally horizontally across the forward end of the tractor. This blade is conventional in form, with a generally vertically disposed back It (Fig. 3) having a concave forwardly facing side in vertical cross-section, which back extends straight forwardly and downwardly along its lower portion l5 and carries a straight, removable cutting blade l6 along the lower edge thereof. A pair of forwardly extending end plates ll at the ends of back 14 act to reinforce the back and to hold the earth or material cut by the cutting edge from spilling too freely from the ends of said back.

The end plates I! generally extend rearwardly of the back l4 a slight distance, thus providing a vertically extending flange extending both forwardly and rearwardly of the back l4 at opposite ends of the latter and said plates also may ex: tend upwardly above edge of back H, as indicated at l9 (Fig. 1).

The arm 2 also carries adjacent its forward end an angularly upwardly and forwardly extending brace l9 (Fig. 1), through the upper end of which extends a bolt 20 secured at one end to the back I4 adJacent the upper edge of the latter. Nuts are threaded on said bolt at opposite sides of the portion on brace 19 through which it extends for permitting adjustment of the bolt relative to said brace, and consequently, adjustment of the back I4 together with portions l5, l8 carried by said back.

The back I4 is provided with a flange 2| along the upper edge, which flange is on the rear side of the back (Fig. 3).

In referring to the back l4, and portions [5, IS in the description and claims, these elements will be generally grouped under the term "grader blade since they are substantially a single unit.

My attachment comprises an elongated cutting blade 22 shaped to provide a forwardly facing concave side, and said blade is supported at one end of the grader blade by a pivot 23 secured to the rear side of blade 22 at the end of the latter nearest the grader blade by means of a pin 24. Pin 24 extends through the sides of a socket member 25 projecting-from the rear side of the blade 22, and revolvably through the end of pivot shaft 23 that extends into said socket. Thepivot shaft 23 rotatably extends through a block 26 rigidly secured to the lower end of the end plate l1 and is secured to the block against removal therefrom, by a nut, (Fig. l), or any other suitable means, at the side of block 26 opposite the pin 24. The pin 24 permits swinging of blade 22 forwardly and rearwardly, with respect to the direction of movement of the grader, while the rotation of the shaft 23 permits swinging movement of the blade 22 in a vertical arc indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 about the axis of shaft 23.

Spaced from the socket member 25 in direction toward the opposite end of the blade 22, is another socket member 21. The socket 21 is rigid with the blade 22, and in said socket is secured one end of a brace 28, the opposite end of which brace is secured to one end of an arcuate bar 29 (Fig. 2.). A main brace member 30 also connects with said socket member by means of an intermediate brace 3| (Fig. 1) said brace member 30 is also secured to the same end of bar 29 as the brace 28.

The arcuate bar 29 extends between a pair of vertical rollers 32 (Fig. 3), which rollers are supported adjacent the upper end of a bracket 33 that extends upwardly and forwardly of the upper end of a plate II, to which the lower end of the bracket is secured, thus positioning the bar 29 forwardly of the forward side of the grader blade. The concave side of the bar 29 faces toward the cutting blade 22, and a roller 34 (Fig. 2) is adapted to support the said concave side for rolling thereon while a roller 34' is against the convex side of the bar, said latter being carried by an upward extension 33' of bracket 33.

Extending from the end of bar 29 to which the braces '29, 30 are secured is another brace 35 (Fig. 1) which brace extends angularly from the end of said bar 29 rearwardly to pivotally connect with the main arm 2 of the grader by means of a horizontal pivot 36 carried by a bracket 31 bolted to arm 2 by a bolt 38.

It is seen from the foregoing that movement of the curved arm lengthwise between rollers 32, 34, 34 will effect the vertical swinging of the cutting blade 22 in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2, the pivots 23, 36 being the pivots about which said swinging movement occurs.

The-means for causing said swinging movement comprises the cable II, which cable, as has already been stated, passes around sheave l2, the latter being pivotally secured to the upper end of the bracket extension 33' by pivot 39. The portion of cable II that passes the sheave l2 in direction away from the main length between the sheave and drum I0, extends to the end of arm 29 that is opposite the end supporting the cutting blade braces, said portion being designated ll, (Fig. 2). Portion II is secured to the end of the bar 29, and it is pertinent to note that this portion will always ride on the convex side of bar 29 by reason of the position of the sheave I2 which is directly over said bar.

Upon winding of the cable H on drum I0, the cutting blade 22 will be lowered from a generally vertically extending position to any angularly extending position desired relative to the longitudinal axis of the main grader blade, either above or below said axis, thus permitting any shaping of a bank that may be desired, whether said bank extends upwardly from the road bed or downwardly, and also the blade 22 may be used to lengthen the effective cutting edge of the grader blade when the cutting blade 22 is in substantially longitudinal extension of said grader blade. Furthermore, in instances when the cutting blade 22 is inclined downwardly from the axis of the main grader blade, it is used for cutting ditches and the earth so cut is directed to the forward side of the grade! blade, since the end of the cutting blade outwardly of the grader is positioned forwardly of the grader blade. Of course, where the cutting blade 22 is positioned nearly vertically, the grader blade is elevated by means of the cable 4 so that the end of bar 29 to which cable II is attached will not engage the ground ahead of the grader blade, but when the cutting blade is substantially horizontal, or extends downwardly, the bar 29 is moved upwardly, thus enabling the grader blade to be lowered for functioning to receive the earth, rocks or the like, that are passed thereto from cutting blade 22.

The cable ll positively prevents any tendency of the cutting blade 22 to swing upwardly from any position to which the cutting blade is moved, but upon slackening the cable II, a coil spring 40 slidably connected at one end to brace 35 and removably secured at its opposite end to bolt 29, will automatically cause the blade 22 to swing upwardly to the extent of the slack in cable H.

One of the highly desirable features of my invention is the fact that the only modification required in the standard construction of the grader unit for securing my attachment to the grader is the provision of a hole in arm 2 for the bolt 38 that secures the bracket 31 to said arm. The other means employed for securing my attachment to the grader comprises a pair of stud bolts 4| that are threadedly extended through ears 42 that are carried on plate ll' that is against the end I! of the grader blade (Fig.2). The ears 42 extend across the forward edge of end I! and the inner ends of bolts 4| may be slightly tapered to engage the inner side of the said end I! when the bolts are tightened, thus tightly securing plate l'l' against end [1. A similar stud bolt 43 threadedly extends through an ear 44' that extends from the rear edge of plate I'l' over the rear edge of end ll, which bolt clamps the rear edge of the plate against said end l1, and a hook 44 extends from the upper edge of plate l'l' over the upper edge of end ll for preventing any downward slipping of the plate H. The member 26, bracket 33, extension33' and all the .other elements of my attachment are carried by the end plate l'l', thus upon removing bolt 38 and loosening bolts 4|, 43, the entire attachment may be lifted from the grader. Thereafter by disconnecting cable I I from the bar 29 the grader may be used without the attachment in its usual manner.

The blade 22 may be adjusted in several ways. The first has been described, namely, by raising and lowering the blade about its pivot by means of cable ll. Also, referring to the connection between brace member 30, and bar 29, the said connection comprises a sleeve 30' through which the member 30 is adapted to pass, and the same bolt 50 that connects the brace 28 to bar 29 threadedly extends through the side of sleeve 30' and tightens the member 30 to the sleeve, said sleeve being secured rigidly on the end of bar 29.

Thus upon dropping out braces 28, 3|, the end of member 30 to which brace 3i was formerly attached may be secured in socket 21. The member 30 is slightly curved, as indicated in Fig. 1, so as to correspond to the are through which the socket 21 will swing when the said end of member 30 is secured in the latter. loosening bolt 50 the member 30 can be moved longitudinally in sleeve 39' until blade 22 is substantially vertical and the blade 22 may still be ivoted by actuation of cable H to swing from substantially horizontal to a substantially vertical position, which latter position is not as nearly approximated where the braces 28, 3| are employed.

It is further important to note that the arm 28 is slotted at its end through which the bolt 59 passes, so that upon loosening bolt 50 the brace 28 may be moved longitudinally to a position tilting the cutting blade transversely of its length to a greater or lesser degree with respect to vertical. Other braces, such as 52 may connect at one of their ends to member 30 and brace 35 at points respectively spaced from bar 29, and connect to said bar at their opposite ends by a bolt 54, asindica-ted in Fig. 2, if desired. The matter of bracing may be modified, without invention, provided the adjustments of the cutting blade are provided for.

The securement of cable II to the end of bar 29 is by means of a flat, generally ovoid shaped wedge 55 (Fig. 4) grooved around its edge to receive the end of cable ll, said wedge being adapted to fit into the space between a retaining plate 56 having convergent flanges at opp site ends thereof secured to the outer end of 29. The large end 01 the wedge is lowermost with flanges extending slantingly toward each other to con- Thus upon form generally to the incline of the opposite edges of the wedge that extend toward the smaller end of the latter. Thus upon placing the outermost end of portion ll of cable I I in the groove in the wedge plate, and slipping the plate upwardly into the space between plate 56 and the bar 29 the end of portion ll of the cable II that extends around the wedge plate will be frictionally held between the flanges on the retainer plate and the edges of the wedge plate and the greater the tension on the cable II, the more the end of'the latter extending around the wedge plate will be gripped between the said flanges and wedge plate. Upon knocking the wedge plate downwardly and out of the spaces between retainer plate 58 and bar 29, the end of the cable around the wedge plate will be released.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a grader having a source of power thereon and adapted to travel over the ground in one direction, an elongated ground cutting blade, a pivot at one end of said blade securing said blade to said grader in a position extending laterally outwardly of said grader-and angularly relative to the line of travel of the grader; said pivot supporting said blade for swinging vertically in opposite directions about said pivot, a cable actuated for longitudinal movement in opposite directions, by said source of power connecting between said source of power and said blade, arranged and adapted to positively swing said blade downwardly about said pivot upon movement of said cable longitudinally in one direction, and to positively secure said blade at any desired point in its downward movement against upward swinging thereof when said movement of said cable in said one direction stops; and means for swinging said blade upwardly about said pivot upon reverse movement of said cable longitudinally in the opposite direction.

2. In a construction as defined in claim 1, said last mentioned means being automatically operlongitudinally in said opposite direction for so swinging said blade upwardly. ative at all times upon movement of said cable 3. In a grader having a source of power thereon and adapted to travel over the ground in one direction, an elongated ground cutting blade, a pivot at one end of said blade securing said blade to said grader in a position extending laterally outwardly of said grader and angularly relative to the line of travel of the grader, said pivot supporting said blade for swinging vertically in opposite directions about said pivot; a cable actuated for longitudinal movement in opposite directions by said source of power connecting between said source of power and said blade arranged and adapted to positively pull said blade downwardly about said pivot upon actuation of said cable in said one direction and to positively secure said blade at any desired point in its downward movement when said actuation of said cable stops; a spring associated with said blade for swinging said blade upwardly about said pivot upon actuating said cable for longitudinal movement thereof in the opposite direction.

4. In a grader having a'source of power thereon and adapted to travel over the ground in one direction, an elongated ground cutting blade, a pivot at one end of said blade securing said blade to said grader in, a position extending laterally outwardly of said grader and angularly relative to the line of travel of the grader, said pivot supporting said blade for swinging verti- .end of the outward extension of said cable being secured to one end of said arm in a position for moving said arm longitudinally of the arm and in a direction for swinging said blade downwardly about said pivot upon rotation of said drum in one direction to wind said outward ex,- tension of the cable thereon, whereby said blade will be positively held by said cable against upward movement at any point in the vertical swinging of said blade when said cable is taut; and means associated with said blade automatically operative thereon for swinging said blade upwardly upon actuation of said drum in the opposite direction to unwind the said cable therefrom.

5. In a grader adapted for movement over the ground normally in one direction and having a main grader blade thereon extending transversely across the grader relative to the line of travel of the latter; an auxiliary, elongated,

ground cutting blade; pivot means at one end of said cutting blade securing said cuttin blade to one end of said grader blade in a position extending generally in a longitudinal extension of the grader blade and outwardly of a side of said grader; an elongated, rigid, brace member for said cutting blade; a pivot horizontally spaced from said first pivot securing one end of said brace member to said grader at a point closely adjacent a lateral side of the latter, and means securing the opposite end of said brace member to said cutting blade at a point adjacent the end of said cutting blade remote from said pivot means; said pivot means and said point being arranged and adapted for supporting said cutting blade and said brace member for simultaneous vertical swinging in opposite directions about a substantially horizontal axis common to both the cutting blade and said brace member; said brace member being disposed rearwardly of said cutting blade relative to the normal directional movement of said grade; a source ofpower on said grader, and means connecting between said source of power and said cutting blade actuated by said source of power for so swinging said cutting blade and said brace member.

6. In a construction as defined in claim 5, said pivot means being arranged and adapted to also support said cutting blade for swinging horizontally about said pivot'means, and means for adjustably securing the said opposite end of said brace member to said cutting blade at different horizontal distances relative to each other for varying the horizontal angularity of said cutting blade relative to the line of travel of said grader.

'1. An attachment for a grader of the type having an elongated main grader blade supported in front of a tractor by arms pivoted to sidas of the tractor, comprising an auxiliary ground cutting blade, and a rigid, elongated brace member secured at one end to one end of said cutting blade and extending along one side of said cutting blade, the opposite ends of said cutting bladeand said brace member being spaced apart; a first clamping means plvotally secured to the opposite end of said cutting blade arranged and adapted tobe removably clamped to one end of the main grader blade for supporting said cutting blade in generally outward extension of said main grader blade with the pivot connecting the cutting blade to said first clamping means arranged to support the cutting blade for vertical swinging of the latter in opposite directions about such pivot; and a second clamping means pivotally secured to the opposite end of said brace member arranged and adapted to be removably clamped to one of the arms supporting said ma-in grader blade on said tractor in a position in which the pivot so connecting the said brace member to said clampin mean is in substantially horizontal alignment with the pivot connecting the cutting blade with said first clamping means whereby upon securement of said first and second clamping means to said main grader blade and to said arm respectively, the said cutting blade and said brace member will be vertically swingable about a common axis.

'8. An attachment as defined in claim 7, including as a part thereof means for securing a supporting cable thereto in a position for causing simultaneous downward swinging movement of said cutting blade and said brace member upon pulling said cable, and yieldable means as-- sociated with said cutting blade and said brace member arranged and adapted to be connected to said grader in a position to automatically cause the said cutting blade and brace member to swing upwardly upon release of the pull on such cable.

9. A road grader and sloper comprising a power driven vehicle adapted to travel over the ground having a frame thereon supporting a main grader blade extending horizontally across the foremost end of said vehicle and frame, and having a second grader blade in a position extending generally in longitudinal extension of said main grader blade and pivoted means carried by said frame supporting said second grader blade in said position forwardly of said vehicle and frame for swinging of said second blade in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis at the adjacent ends of said blades, whereby said second grader blade will grade the ground outwardly of a lateral-side of said vehicle, but forwardly thereof at an angle to the surface contour of the ground graded by the main grader blade when said vehicle is moved forwardly with said main grader blade foremost, the said main grader blade and second blade being arranged at their adjacent ends for movement of earth cut by said second blade to the forward side of the main grader blade for engagement by the latter during forward movement of the vehicle.

OSCAR M. HUETER, JR. 

